With respect to many types of fishing, it is no understatement to say that a sizeable fraction of the time is spent waiting for something to happen. During most of this time, the fishing rod is held in a generally upright inclined position as the angler waits for the taletale tug signifying that a fish has taken the bait. In order to ease the fatigue that would set in from holding the rod during these long periods of time, various fishing rod support arrangements have been devised.
The nature of known fishing rod supports varies, depending on the location from which the fisherman is fishing. For example, the angler may be fishing from a pier, from a boat, from the shoreline, or from an automobile. The more informal support mechanisms provide an upstanding structure (e.g. a fishing tackle box) over which the rod is inclined, and a weighted element (e.g. a handy rock) to hold the butt end of the rod handle on the ground. Less ad hoc methods of supporting a fishing rod may be found in the patent literature.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,911 discloses a fishing rod holder that may be mounted to a boat or a pier. This is accomplished by the provision of a suitable mounting bracket which is more or less permanently attached to the boat or pier, and which receives and holds suitable rod supporting structure. U.S. Pat. No. 2,576,624 shows a fishing rod holder that may be fastened to the user's belt or alternately to an upright anchor post. It is clear that these prior art devices have a common characteristic, namely the need for a customized fixed mating supporting structure on the boat or pier. U.S. Pat. No. 1,831,190 discloses a portable fishing rod holder that clamps over the side of a boat. However, this holder is unsuitable for use in other situations, and may even be of limited usefulness on many kinds of boats.
It is also known in the prior art to provide a sand spike to which is rigidly mounted a tubular rod holder. The spike is pushed into the ground to provide a support for the rod near ground level, thus allowing the fisherman fishing from the shoreline of a body of water to enjoy the benefits of a fishing rod support.
However, the prior art fishing rod holders have tended to be designed for one or at most two uses, and have not provided the user with true flexibility. Therefore, the angler who has wished to have fishing rod holders for a wide variety of situations has generally been forced to carry several special purpose fishing rod holders in his tackle box. This is both costly and inconvenient.